On April 1, April Fools’ Day, the main event of the International Festival of Humor and Satire “Golden Helmet” took place, organized by the Cultural Center of Kruševac, under the patronage of the City of Kruševac.
The Festival gathered the most successful humorists, satire writers and cartoonists from around the glove who competed in “Under-18” and “Adult” categories.
Director of Cultural Center of Kruševac, Marija Cvetković, discussed more about the importance of the Festival itself, stating that over 2000 authors submitted their pieces, which reached the number of 10.000 cartoons and 20.000 textual submissions. The main categories were caricature and written form. The most successful creators were gifted a masterclass worshops with well-known teachers.
Mayor of Kruševac Ivan Manojlović highlighted that the “Golden Helmet” was one one the most known cultural events of our city. It had helped in nurturing modern artistic creativity, freedom of expression, and spirit of humor and satire.
“This event has been proving that humor and satire are not just art for decades – they are the mirror of our society, a way to understand the times we are living in, and to say the things that are difficult to say through a smile.
This is a place where talents from around the world meet, sharing different ideas and views, being connected by the universal language of cartoons, humour, and creativity”.
After the speech, the award ceremony commenced.
The winner of the “Golden Helmet” Award for the Best Written Form (a story, poem, or aphorism) was Bojana Dančetović from Belgrade for the aphorism
“It used to be face and body of work – Today it’s a selfy and a body”
Out of 468 cartoons submitted by 188 authors, the jury unanimously voted for Makhmudjon Eshonkulov from Uzbekistan for the winner of the Golden Helmet for the Best Cartoon.
“Rade Brka” Special Award for the Best Written Form Containing the Folk Spirit went to Đurđa Vukelić Rožić and her story “The Bitch and the Optimist”.
The “Knight of Čarapanija – Ser Hardy” Awards is reserved for the ones who have formed a special connection to Kruševac. The special connection is interwoven with wittines, humour, and satire, and this year’s winner was Branislav Nedić, Director of Kruševac Theater, which celebrates an important anniversary in 2026 – 80 years of existence.
One of the founder of the school theater competition “FEŠT” and Christmas Theater Festival “Kruška”, he won Captain Miša Anastasijević Chart for Culture, Cultural-Educational Community’s Golden Pin, City of Kruševac awards, and awards for the plays he had directed, among other accolades.
Mayor Manojlović commenced the ceremony of the Ser Hardy Award.
The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Dragan Nikolić, choreographer of CAS “14. oktobar”, for his work in culture and promotion of our city and country.
Dragan guided many talented folk dance enthusiasts and amateurs with great success, performing in more than 100 cities of former Yugoslavia, 45 international folk festivals, 65 events abroad from Turkey, the United States, Sweden to Greece, proudly representing Kruševac and Serbia for more than 60 years.
“14. oktobar” folk ensemble performed in honor of Dragan Nikolić.
At the end of the Festival, the next year’s topic was announced to be – free topic.
After the announcement of the topic, a monodrama called “Men” was performed. It was produced by Kruševac Theater, directed by Toma Trifunović, based on the work by Duško Radović, and performed by Biljana Jocić Savić.
